Abstract
This study examined parenting styles and students’ academic performance in civil education among senior secondary schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis. To achieve the purpose of the study, the researcher developed four objectives of the study, four research questions and four hypotheses that guided the conduct of the study. The research used a correlational design to examine relationships among variables, without manipulation or control of the variables being studied. The population of the study comprised of 63,155 students in senior public secondary schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis. The study utilized a sample of 400 senior secondary school students drawn from public schools within Port Harcourt Metropolis. The sample size was determined using Taro Yamane’s formula for sample size calculation, which produced a value of 397.5 and was rounded up to 400 for ease of representation. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select the participants. The instruments used for data collection was a self-structured questionnaires. To analyse the research questions and hypotheses and determine the nature and strength of the relationships between parenting styles and students’ academic performance in Civic Education, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) was employed at a 0.05 level of significance. Based on the data analysis, the finding of the study revealed that authoritarian parenting style, permissive parenting style, and neglectful parenting style relate significantly to students’ academic performance in Civic Education in senior secondary schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis. Based on the findings, the study recommended that, parents should adopt authoritative parenting practices that balance warmth with reasonable control to enhance students’ academic performance in Civic Education, schools and counselors should sensitize parents on the limitations of authoritarian discipline, encouraging more communicative and supportive approaches and awareness programs should be introduced to discourage permissive parenting, guiding parents to combine emotional support with consistent boundaries.